She stabbed angrily at the bedspread with the end of her finger. She wasn’t going to get what she wanted, and there was no use pretending she would. Right now, she had to think about her sister, and that meant she needed to get Jorik and Nell together. It wouldn’t be easy because they were both smart, but Lucy figured she was smarter. All she had to do was push them in the right direction.

And try to keep them from getting to Iowa too soon.

Button waited until they were in Indiana before she fell apart. This time Mat didn’t have to be convinced to stop. They’d left West Virginia and Ohio behind them, Mabel hadn’t broken down again, and he was feeling more optimistic about actually making it to Iowa.

He drove into the small campground they’d chosen for the night and smiled at the variety of barnyard noises coming from behind him as Nell tried to appease the baby. She was something, smart and funny. But it was her subtle sexiness that kept sending a whole filmstrip of X-rated images flashing through his mind.

All afternoon he’d been driving in a haze of lust. Every time she crossed those too-slender legs, let a sandal dangle from her toes, brushed her arm against him, he felt as if he were going to explode. The mystery lady might not have completely accepted it yet, but she was about to take herself a lover. And if he had anything to say about it—which he damn well did—she was going to take that lover tonight.

It would be tricky since they were sharing a small space with two kids, but the door at the back had a lock on it, and both girls seemed to be sound sleepers. It wasn’t an ideal solution—he wanted to make her scream—but he couldn’t wait any longer.

As they bumped along the gravel road to the campsite, he wondered how long those flawless upper-crust manners would last in bed. If only they could have some real privacy . . . The small part of his brain that was still functioning rationally warned him to wait, but some predatory instinct told him he needed to put his mark on her as soon as possible.

Put his mark on her? Where had that idea come from? If he weren’t careful, he’d be dragging her into the trees by her hair. He smiled as he imagined how she’d react to that, then maneuvered Mabel into their campsite and turned off the ignition.

The Demon was starting to hiccup from screaming, and Nell rushed to unfasten her from the car seat. Her cheeks were flushed from all the animal noises, and as she leaned forward, he could see the outline of her breasts falling against the soft cotton top. He was in bad need of fresh air.